The Detroit Free Press, June 05, 2007
Othello's pain is viewing pleasure
By: Martin F. Kohn
You lose track of how many times in "Othello" somebody or other calls Iago honest. That includes Iago himself and the chief target of his villainy, his boss, the Venetian general Othello.
Iago is ambitious, vicious, ingratiating, persuasive and wily. He may or may not be a good soldier, but the one thing we do know is that he is far from honest.
Having been passed over for a promotion he sets out to destroy Othello. But he can't work his evil alone; Othello's own weaknesses, chiefly jealousy, make the general an unwitting coconspirator in his own destruction. Othello believes his wife, Desdemona, is unfaithful because Iago has suconvinced him that it's so.
It's fascinating to watch the workings of the mind in David Latham's thoughtful and unadorned production. Latham has an exceedingly fine cast to thank for that. As Iago, Jonathan Goad, soft-spoken and seemingly without pretense, appears incapable of trickery, which makes him all the more menacing.
Lucy Peacock, as Iago's wife and Desdemona's attendant, Emilia, brings a contemporary, conflicted sensibility to the role. She speaks and bears herself with confidence but also show signs of the abused wife, refusing to recognize Iago's treachery when it's staring her in the face.
Iago has Emilia steal Desdemona's precious handkerchief, a gift from Othello, but she never demands to know why he wants it stolen. Iago tells Othello that Desdemona has given the handkerchief to her lover, and when Othello makes its absence an issue Emilia almost speaks up.
As Desdemona, Claire Jullien is a paragon of wifely devotion, ministering to a pained and agitated Othello even as he accuses her of infidelity.
Philip Akin's Othello, though, is the most riveting presence. Akin speaks his Shakespeare with an almost conversational ease. His deterioration is something to behold: As the play opens he stands soldier-straight, very much the general in command. Even at his final undoing he retains a military bearing, while his features show his emotion.
"Othello" is as much about racism as it is about jealousy and betrayal. Othello, who is black, has risen to leadership in a society where all the other prominent people are white. Prejudice may contribute to the personal insecurity that allows Othello to think that Desdemona could be attracted to someone else.
Of the four Shakespeare plays at Stratford this year, "Othello" is the one not to miss.